Councilman's wife tapped for judgeship

Councilman Rory Lancman's wife was nominated for a civil court judgeship by the Queens Democratic Party. A screening panel found her to be qualified for the post.

Queens Councilman Rory Lancman’s wife was nominated Monday by the Queens Democratic Party for a Queens Civil Court judgeship, a development aided by his renewed good standing with the county political machine.

The Democratic nomination for the position all but guarantees Mr. Lancman’s wife, Morgan, will win election for a much-desired judgeship in November.

Mr. Lancman said that his wife was found to be qualified by a independent judicial screening panel several years ago. He acknowledged that his renewed good standing with leadership of the Queens Democratic Party—whose day-to-day leadership is made up of a group of politically-connected attorneys—also did not hurt. The judgeship comes with a $159,900 salary and a 10-year term.

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“The independent screening panel found her to be qualified, and on the merits she’s definitely qualified to be a judge,” Mr. Lancman said. “But it is an elected office, and it did take a few years for all the stars to align politically.”

Morgan Lancman, a graduate of New York Law School, has held a number of positions in government, including as a court referee, a court law secretary, and as an attorney at the New York City comptroller’s office, Mr. Lancman said. She would be the first Iranian-born judge in New York.

Queens surrogate and Supreme Court judges have been subject of criticism in the past because they frequently hand out court lucrative appointments to attorneys with close connections to the Queens Democratic Party. For instance, Queens Democratic leader and Rep. Joseph Crowley's campaign treasurer is a frequent choice. Queens Assemblyman Michael Simanowitz has also been getting a number of "referee" appointments from a judge closely connected to him.

When Mr. Lancman ran for Congress in 2012, he harshly criticized the leadership of the Queens Democratic Party for allegedly planting a candidate in the race to siphon Jewish votes away from him. The race was ultimately won by Rep. Grace Meng. Later that year, in an effort to make up with leadership of the Queens Democrats, Mr. Lancman agreed not to run for his party district leader post.

In 2013, Mr. Lancman ran for an open City Council seat with the backing of the Queens Democrats. He remained staunchly committed to voting with leadership of the Queens Democratic Party during the City Council speaker race, and ended up not landing a committee chairmanship when Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito won election without the Queen Democrats' as part of the deal. His wife's nomination to a judgeship by the Queens Democratic Party would seem to represent the relationship coming full circle.

Mr. Lancman confirmed he is set to get the party’s backing to run for his old district leadership, an unpaid party position, this year. His chief of staff, Dominic Panakal, is also expected to run for an open district leader spot with the party’s support.

Correction: Morgan Lancman would be the first Iranian-born judge in New York. That fact was misstated in an earlier version of this story, originally published May 19, 2014.